


And In The Stars I See Your Eyes

by itookthestars



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Peter Pan AU, kind of?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 11:59:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itookthestars/pseuds/itookthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's sure he's seen a boy peering through his window.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And In The Stars I See Your Eyes

The first time Harry sees him, he blinks, and he disappears. 

The time on his alarm clock next to his bed reads just past midnight, but Harry was sure he hadn’t been dreaming. He’d seen a boy peering through his window. 

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes impatiently and hurries out of bed over to the window, looking out. But there issn’t anybody there. Only the stars wink back at him. 

* * * * *

The next night Harry stays up well past one in the morning, staring attentively out of his window for any sign of the boy. There is none, however, and he wakes up the next morning with a crick in his neck from falling asleep at the windowsill. 

Even so he stays up every night for the next week trying to catch sight of the face he knows he saw until his mother catches him at it and sends him back to bed with a scolding. Harry finally gives up the idea that he had seen someone after that.

Until he wakes up the next morning to find that his window open, the curtains fluttering gently in the cool breeze. 

“Mum, did open my window last night?” Harry asks at breakfast. 

“No. Eat up, love, you’ll be late for school.” 

Harry looks thoughtfully at his eggs and toast. Maybe...he had opened the window in his sleep? But Harry knows that isn’t true. He thinks of the boy’s face again and his heartbeat quickens with excitement.

That night Harry purposefully leaves the window open, claiming his room to be too warm when his mother looks at him questioningly. It’s barely 20 degrees outside, but she lets him be. 

When she leaves he hurries to his bed and under the covers. He had decided to feign sleep, but keeps his ears open for any noise coming from the window. He’s jittery with anticipation--he knows the boy was going to show up tonight--but tries to keep as still as possible. He even gives a little snore. 

But after a few hours of absolute silence, Harry decides to let himself finally drift off, disappointment weighing on his chest. Perhaps he had just opened the window in his sleep...

Thunk.

Harry sits up so fast his head spins. There’s no mistaking it, he had definitely heard a crash--

And there he is. The boy, not much older than Harry’s eight years, sits on the floor rubbing his head and cursing quietly. His hair sticks up every which way, his clothes are torn and filthy, and he isn’t wearing any shoes. He’s the best thing Harry has ever seen.

He jumps out of bed and runs over to the boy, who stands up quickly and puts his hands on his hips. 

“Ha! I knew it! I knew you were real.” Harry jumps up and down, pointing at the boy and laughing delightedly. The boy’s eyes flash defiantly. They are very blue.

“How do you know? Could be a ghost.” He stares back at Harry, challenging him. Harry reaches out and grabs the boy’s arm. His skin is warm and tan. It’s also filthy. 

“Nope, definitely not a ghost,” Harry says, grinning. “Wouldn’t be able to touch you if you were. My hand would just go right through you.”

The boy jerks his arm back. “Yeah, well, maybe you’re dreaming then.”

Harry makes a show of pinching his own arm. “I’m awake, and you’re real!” 

The boy crosses his arms and glares. “So what if I am?”

Harry knows that doesn’t make any sense, but he grins anyway. “Well, I’m glad you are. Means I haven’t been going crazy this past week.”

The two boys stand silently across from one another. The other boy seems to be sizing Harry up, but Harry’s still grinning widely. Nothing this exciting has ever happened to him before. “What’s your name, then?” he asks pleasantly. Asking him what he was doing climbing through his bedroom window in the middle of the night doesn’t occur to him.

“Louis,” the boy says, thrusting his chin out as if Harry will object. “What about you?”

“I’m Harry.” Louis smiles then, and gestures to his own head of spiky hair. “Is it because of your curls?”

“Nah. Pretty sure I was born bald like everyone else.” Harry likes Louis’ smile. He has small, sharpish teeth and his eyes crinkle at the corners.

Louis reaches out a hand tentatively. “Can I...do you mind if I touch it?” Harry shakes his head. He almost giggles when Louis reaches forward and shyly pets his head. “Very...soft,” Louis determines. He gives one curl a gentle tug before pulling back. His face is unreadable, but Harry still can’t stop smiling. He grabs Louis’ hand and brings them back over to his bed. He flops down and crosses his legs Indian style. After a moment’s hesitation, Louis sits down across from him. 

They sit in the darkness silently, waiting for the other to start speaking first. After a few minutes Louis says suddenly, “Do you want to meet somebody?” Harry nods, looking back at the window as if someone else might come tumbling through. But Louis is pulling something out of his jacket pocket. 

Harry leans in excitedly, only to pull back quickly as Louis pulls out what has to be the largest cockroach Harry has ever seen. 

“This is Tinkerbell!” Louis holds it out for Harry to get a better look. Harry leans in uncertainly, his stomach turning a little as one if its enormous antennae gives a sudden twitch. “Go on then, give her a pet!”

He hesitantly puts out a single finger and gives it a quick stroke. The roach takes up the entire length of Louis’ hand, and if Harry isn’t mistaken, it’s purring. Harry still feels a bit ill, but doesn’t want to hurt Louis’ feelings. “She’s lovely.”

“Well she likes you, that’s for sure! She can be quite nasty if she doesn’t. Nearly bit Zayn’s finger off when he first met her,” Louis says happily. He gives the thing a loving pat before putting it back in his pocket, to Harry’s relief. He didn’t know that cockroaches could bite, and isn’t eager to find out. “Who’s Zayn?” he asks instead, changing the subject quickly lest Louis should bring Tinkerbell back out again.

“Oh, he’s one of the lost boys. You’ll meet them all soon enough.” Louis seems quite sure of this. “I’m hungry now, have you got any pudding or anything?”

And that’s how Harry finds himself sat in his kitchen at one in the morning on a Saturday night, eating leftover shepherd’s pie straight from the tin with a strange, beautiful, dirty boy. When they’re full they go back up to Harry’s room, Harry taking the stair softly and slowly so as not to wake his mum and stepdad. Louis races up in front of him and carelessly jumps onto the landing. Harry follows him back to his room and then to his window, where Louis is already perched on the sill.

“Well, Curly, I’ve got to be going now,” he says with a salute, “but I expect I’ll be back soon enough. Thanks for the pie and all that.” 

“When?” Harry asks, not yet wanting the boy to leave. “When will you be back?”

Louis doesn’t answer, instead winking and reaching out to give Harry’s curls a little tug. Before Harry can react Louis is already climbing out of the window, and then he’s gone, the shadows seeming to swallow him whole.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in the One Direction, so please be kind! All comments/kudos are more appreciated than you know. I have plans to continue this, but I'm not sure how long it will be, but if people seem interested I'll definitely keep it going. Also, if you notice any grammatical errors or typos feel free to let me know! Suggestions would also be lovely...
> 
> Follow me on tumblr; user name is maraudered! :D


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